Being blind could be a really helpless feeling.
Sami couldn’t tell how many hours had passed. Was it three? Six? He couldn’t tell, but it did feel so very long.
During this time, he didn’t let himself sleep too deeply. Well, actually, he couldn’t sleep, both from the lingering adrenaline and from the many questions he had.
Like why he was feeling pain from his broken nose and his broken ribs even after reverting to his base self.
After thinking about it, he figured that even though he said, "I am a healthy man," that was still his real body, not an avatar or an illusion. His real body or rather... playable state, just became healthy at that time.
If he got injured and does not treat it, the injury remained even after his Prana ran out.
If he said again after some time, "I am a healthy man," he would become a healthy man again until he canceled the lie, reverting to his base self with injuries.
The more injuries he received, the more his base self would suffer after he ran out of Prana.
Sami sighed.
He continued to fiddle with the card in his hand. It was a square playing card that had appeared sometime after he became blind.
If he were to guess, he would say that this was the Joker Card.
He figured that he could cause it to disappear and appear in his hands anytime he wanted, except for when he used his Talent.
’I was able to see that man’s card earlier.’
Sami could instinctively tell that his ability to see cards came from his Class Card. That was his Trait as the Wild Card.
’It seems I was only able to see his card after he used his powers. If I’m looking at this like a Game of Cards, then it seems I can see the cards of people only after they play their hand?’
He was still going to confirm this fact later as he wasn’t definitively sure.
That aside...
’It seems that Class Cards are exactly that. I now know that 3 of Clubs stands for the Warrior Class. Becoming a 3 of Clubs grants me the Trait and Skill of a Warrior in the First Tier. I wonder what the rest stands for,’ he thought as he played the events of earlier in his mind.
Having decided that he had rested enough, he exhaled, then winced as he tried to stand, after which he muttered, "I am a healthy man."
...Indeed, Sami was a healthy man.
He blinked as he looked around the apartment, while stretching and exercising his muscles, which felt no pain at the moment.
’I’ve accumulated a good amount of Prana. At this point, I think I can keep being my perfect self for at least a few hours.’
He could feel that the strange energy was flowing through his entire body, but it was mostly settled and flowing out of his eyes.
’First things first, I need to clean up.’
His apartment reeked of blood and it made him feel uncomfortable. It was only at this moment that the weight of taking a human life finally dawned on him.
Sami felt his mood grow sullen. When he walked over to the kitchen and saw the gore, he nearly retched.
No matter what anyone said, taking a life was not an easy thing, especially the first time!
Sami spent over thirty minutes tidying up the apartment. Once he was done, he went to his balcony, and that was when he realized that truly, his world had changed.
The water that came with the Flood had somehow disappeared, and the sun was far in the horizon, casting an amber light over the ruined cityscape. But the broken buildings and shattered streets remained as reminders of the collapse.
What was even stranger was that Sami could see what looked like a massive black obelisk in the distance. The towering structure, which had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, was very tall, rising into the clouds.
Looking around, he could see a few other obelisks scattered around in different locations. And each one was even further down than the other. Below, there were people moving around, trying to either communicate with each other or understand a bit more about what was happening.
Sami exhaled and retreated into his apartment. As he did, he turned to the screen that had appeared displaying his information. There were a few additions to his profile.
~~~~~~~~~~ ====== ~~~~~~~~~~
Name: [Sami Hong —> Can be changed due to Class]
Player Moniker: [—]
Player No: [100346]
Standing: [Novice]
Titles: [Landlord]
Age: [22]
Race: [Human]
Tier: [1]
Innate Talent: [Charlatan]
Talent Grade: [???]
Class Card: [Joker(Wild Card)]
Archetype Tree: [???]
Evolution Points: [100/1000]
Days left until the next Main Quest: [7 Days]
~~~~~~~~~~ ====== ~~~~~~~~~~
’So the next is in seven days? What are these Main Quests exactly? What’s the point of all these?’
More and more questions continued to pile in Sami’s mind. It was unfortunate that there were not enough answers to go around.
’I can’t believe I made an effort to store all that food only for me to toss them away. What was the point of giving us the warning to prepare then?’
He suddenly felt a bit upset as he made his way to the couch. But as the seconds went by after settling down, that anger turned to hunger.
"..."
He could hear his stomach rumbling.
Remembering that he had heard something like Food Quest, he summoned a different screen which began displaying information.
[All Quests are graded from F —> S]
[To get Food, protective Weapons which includes armor, and all sorts of Unique Items, the Player needs to partake in Side Quests. The higher the grade, the better the reward.]
’This is crazy.’ Sami frowned.
It was really crazy that even a basic necessity like food would now be hard to get.
’Show me information about the Food Quests.’
[F Grade — Provides enough food for barely a single meal. Grants no additional benefits.]
[E Grade — Provides enough food to satisfy one full meal. Restores basic stamina and energy.]
[D Grade — Provides enough food to sustain a person for one to two days. Accelerates natural recovery, stamina, and energy.]
[C Grade — Provides enough food to sustain a person for two or more days. Fully heals minor injuries over three consecutive nights of rest.]
[B Grade — Provides enough food to sustain a person for four or more days. Fully heals major injuries over three consecutive nights of rest and enhances mental focus.]
[A Grade — Provides enough food to sustain a person for over a week. Fully heals major injuries after a single night of sleep. Grants temporary enhancements to strength and speed, sharpens focus, and reverses physical signs of aging.]
[S — ???]
’Huh? There’s food that can reverse signs of aging?!’
That was the thing that caught his attention the most.
But then, after reading the entire Template, he sighed as he realized that his life had changed overnight, making him a hunter.
[To partake in Food Quests, the Player needs to visit any of the Stalls in their District.]
Suddenly, a map appeared to his side with several obelisks in different locations marked as Stalls.
Each Stall had their times and mode of operation, depending on what one went to them for.
Sami could also see that different cities had been marked as Districts. The District his Settlement was in was marked as District 7.
Turning away from map, he continued reading the details.
[Words of Advice: Before partaking in any Quest, one could either borrow or buy weapons from any of the Stalls in the Settlement. Weapons can be borrowed by exchanging EP. To buy a weapon, the Player needs to partake in Weapon Quests, after which the weapon would be given as a reward.]
[Party Quests might offer better rewards, and even a slightly higher chance of survival than solo runs.]
’Hm... I guess I’ll visit one of the Stalls tomorrow morning for a Food Quest,’ he thought as he shifted his attention from the Quests screen to the Player Forums.